There isn’t a single player on Gonzaga’s men’s basketball roster that was alive the last time the Bulldogs failed to reach the West Coast Conference title game.
In reality, it’s not even that close.
On Tuesday night, Gonzaga plays in its 28th consecutive WCC championship clash. Saint Mary’s is the opponent this time, and has been for 13 of the previous 27.
MORE: Delaware is the best story in college basketball
The Bulldogs have been dominant in the WCC final, too, winning 20 of their last 27 opportunities on the big stage.
“This year has been harder than ever,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few told reporters after this year’s semifinal. “… To make it 28 straight years is unbelievable.”
Unbelievable is a word that is overused in sports, but not here.
Sure, Gonzaga usually has the most talent on the floor in WCC games, especially beginning in the mid-2000s.
But basketball is a funny game. You can have a bad shooting night. Your star can get in foul trouble. The other team can refuse to miss a shot.
To win a few tournament games every year to ensure there’s always a spot in the final for Gonzaga is, truly, unbelievable. Not a single slip-up.
When is the last time Gonzaga missed the WCC championship game?
You’ll have to go back to 1997 for the last time Gonzaga didn’t play in the WCC final.
The Bulldogs didn’t even win a game in that season’s conference tournament. They were the 4-seed but lost in a small upset to the 5-seed San Diego in the first round.
And one more crazy stat: Only three teams have made the WCC final in the last 17 seasons. That’d be Gonzaga, St. Mary’s and BYU. San Diego, in 2008, was the last team that didn’t fit into that trio.
Few has been Gonzaga’s head coach since the 1999-2000 season, and was an assistant for nine years before that, so he’s been on the bench for the entire streak.
MORE:
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
